I've been seeing so many inspiring self portraits that I feel the need to document my own journey here. I recently took a 6 week self-portrait course guided by Kristin Zecchinelli & Meredith Winn. Their NOW YOU workshop was incredible. They provided an online community where photos and stories could be comfortably shared. Boundaries were pushed and new ways of seeing ourselves emerged.
It's not easy to take a self portrait. You're always going to pick at this or that. What I found that helped me get through this process was to use my self as an object, not so much as me the person, but as an item in a photo. This seemed to help.
During this process I found that I really appreciated the quiet moments I took to complete my assignments. Finding a spot, finding the perfect light and the sound of "click" was a nice retreat.
Moments and Me, NOW, are important.
Lastly I learned how important it is to get the moments NOW. Now is now. I am me right now and this is me. If I wait too long to find the me that I think is THE me then I'm missing the me now (I realize that is a crazy sentence).
There is lots more to say about what I learned from this experience but I'll leave it at the above for now.
Thank you to Meredith, Kristin and ALL of the other ladies in the class who put themselves out there, who shared their stories and who shared their many different perspectives of what a self portrait can be.